amberbordelon
In the Brooder
- Jun 18, 2022
- 15
- 26
- 41
I have had 6 hens since March 2020 with no issues. Just to answer questions ahead of time- I clean their coop every Monday, I researched on this site so much before getting them & try my best to do everything right. This is the first time I've had a sick hen. This morning I noticed my smallest hen acting weird. I kept a close eye on her all day & just made the decision to put her in a kennel with nothing but bedding & in the A/C. I live in SOUTH Louisiana, we have had 100°+ days already, I give my girls fresh water & scrub their waterers once- twice daily. I also put ice cubes in their water mid day around 2pm, we have had no rain here surprisingly so I also wet their run when it's miserably hot. I also have been giving frozen fruits & veggies. They did get into some hard, long grass a few days ago so she may have an impacted crop?
Anyway, this morning I noticed she separated herself from the flock & she was just laying down. I immediately checked to see if she is egg bound, I didn't feel anything. Her crop feels much larger than normal & like a water balloon & I can still feel some feed in there as well. I read about holding & massaging them, I did that & she spit up some water with some small leaves in it 2 times so far during the massage. She doesn't have any white goop or anything in her mouth & there's not a foul smell coming from it but the spit up definitely stunk. She's closing her eyes alot & holding her mouth open. Her vent felt hot when I put my finger in, & she was also like dancing around when I done it, nothing I have experienced when checking for egg bound hens but I've only been a chicken Mom for 2 years. I checked her temp with a regular thermometer, it read 109°F, which I know is high & I'd be bringing her to the vet if we had one in our city that handles chickens but we do not. The closest is an hr away, which I would bring her to but they are closed until Monday. What could this be? Please help my sick baby!
Anyway, this morning I noticed she separated herself from the flock & she was just laying down. I immediately checked to see if she is egg bound, I didn't feel anything. Her crop feels much larger than normal & like a water balloon & I can still feel some feed in there as well. I read about holding & massaging them, I did that & she spit up some water with some small leaves in it 2 times so far during the massage. She doesn't have any white goop or anything in her mouth & there's not a foul smell coming from it but the spit up definitely stunk. She's closing her eyes alot & holding her mouth open. Her vent felt hot when I put my finger in, & she was also like dancing around when I done it, nothing I have experienced when checking for egg bound hens but I've only been a chicken Mom for 2 years. I checked her temp with a regular thermometer, it read 109°F, which I know is high & I'd be bringing her to the vet if we had one in our city that handles chickens but we do not. The closest is an hr away, which I would bring her to but they are closed until Monday. What could this be? Please help my sick baby!
